Uchechukwu Nnaike
Experts in the education sector have called for more financing of edtech solutions to increase adoption and boost the quality of education in Nigeria.
This was the takeout at the March edition of Edtech Mondays, organised by the Co-Creation Hub (CCHUB) in partnership with Mastercard Foundation’s Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT.
The engagement session themed ‘Accelerating Edtech Financing for Equity and Access in Nigeria’, was moderated by the Programme Associate, Education, CCHUB, Abigail Anaza-Mark.
Speaking during the panel session, the Chief Executive Officer/co-founder of Edupoint, Oscar Obiorah, said there was no doubt that private investment has contributed a lot in amplifying the reach of ed-tech solutions and consequently improving the quality of education in Nigeria.
“Beyond that, education has become more accessible and affordable with financing for edtech solutions. Also, we are beginning to see ed-tech start-ups delve into R&D to improve the learning outcome of students,” he said.
While restating the significance of public-private partnerships in the success of ed-tech financing, he urged the government to be more involved in achieving the desired results.
Asked what should be done to improve access to ed-tech solutions, especially for underserved communities, he explained that ed-tech founders must begin to devise innovations that will accommodate everyone regardless of class or status.
“If you have a lot of startups who are now plugging into several already existing platforms, and if you have startups who are also building solutions without any need for internet connectivity. We will begin to see that we’re heading somewhere compared to where we were 30 years ago,” he said.
The Executive Director of LEAP Africa, Kehinde Ayeni, noted that many resources and funds had been mobilised to develop and adopt edtech solutions globally, both before and after COVID-19.
While acknowledging challenges associated with accessing funds for ed-tech solutions in Nigeria, Ayeni attributed the challenges to factors such as duplicity of efforts among edtech innovators, lack of scalability to work, and inadequate research to guarantee monitoring and evaluation outcomes reflect the sustainability of their business model.
He urged the government to incentivize the use of technology in its policy framework as this will go a long way in making the policy more practicable.
Another expert, Gbenga Agoye, explained that there had been growing interest in edtech solutions as many investors now invest their funds in them. He identified the solutions’ scalability, market potentials, efficacy, and infrastructure as critical factors investors consider in determining viability.
While urging the need for a proper handshake between the government and the founders of tech solutions to guarantee win-win situations for both parties, Agoye explained that with the enabling environment as well as the provision of adequate infrastructure by the government, he is confident that the challenges of access and equity on ed-tech financing will be addressed.
